Sales & Operations Planning for a Major Beverage Producer

Challenge

This household name beverage maker faced a challenge with a recently-acquired brand: Supply rarely aligned with demand, causing lost sales, manufacturing overtime and sharp swings in inventory. We were asked to do some sleuthing – what were the root causes of these problems and how could they be fixed?

Approach

• Research: Reviewed extensive set of process diagrams covering supply and demand planning; and assessed performance data on supply chain results.
• Interviews: Met with key process participants individually, to understand whether formal processes were respected and, if not, why not.
• Analysis: Assessed the root causes of the supply and demand mismatches.
• Workshop: Facilitated a two-day workshop with the critical stakeholders to present the analysis and findings, and to jointly determine how to resolve the issues.

Results

• Successfully identified the sources of thorny presenting issues, including why the formal processes were not being followed.
• Gained consensus on changes to the planning process that would ensure a much closer matching of supply and demand – boosting revenue, reducing cost and cutting inventory levels while increasing product availability.